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January 
(pronunciation) (help·info) is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter) and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer). In the Southern Hemisphere, January is the seasonal equivalent of July in the Northern Hemisphere.
January starts on the same day of the week as October in common years, and starts on the same day of the week as April and July in leap years. In a common year, January ends on the same day of the week as February and October, and ends on the same day of the week as July in a leap year.
[edit] History
January is named after Janus (Ianuarius), the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word for door (ianua) – January is the door to the year. Traditionally, the original Roman calendar consisted of 10 months, totalling 304 days, winter being considered a monthless period. Around 713 BC, the semi-mythical successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February, allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year (365 days). Although March was originally the first month in the old Roman Calendar, January became the first month of the calendar year either under Numa or under the Decemvirs about 450 BC (Roman writers differ). In contrast, years in dates were identified by naming two consuls, who entered office on May 1 and March 15 before 153 BC when they began to enter office on January 1.
Various Christian feast dates were used for the New Year in Europe during the Middle Ages, including March 25 and December 25. However, medieval calendars were still displayed in the Roman fashion of twelve columns from January to December. Beginning in the 16th century, European countries began officially making January 1 the start of the New Year once again—sometimes called Circumcision Style because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, being the eighth day from December 25.
Historical names for January include its original Roman designation, Ianuarius, the Saxon term Wulf-monath (meaning wolf month) and Charlemagne's designation Wintarmanoth (winter / cold month).
[edit] Other names
In Finnish, the month is called tammikuu, meaning month of the oak, but the original meaning was the month of the heart of winter, as tammi has initially meant axis or core. In Czech this month is called leden, meaning ice month. In Ukrainian it is січень meaning cutting or slicing perhaps referring to the wind. Similarly, in Croatian January is called siječanj, also meaning cutting or slicing. In Sámi it is known as ođđajagimánnu, meaning simply "new year's month". The Turkish word for the month is called Ocak that means stove, fireplace.
According to Theodor Mommsen (The History of Rome, volume 4, The Revolution, ISBN 1-4353-4597-5, page 4), the first of January became the first day of the year in 600 AUC of the Roman Calendar (153 BC), due to disasters in the Lusitanian War. A Lusitanian chief called Punicus, invaded the Roman territory, defeated two Roman governors and slew their troops. The Romans resolved to send a consul to Spain and, in order to accelerate the despatch of aid, "they even made the new consuls enter on office two months and a half before the legal time" (15th of March).
[edit] Holidays in January
- New Year's Day – January 1
- Independence Day in Haiti – January 1
- Handsel Monday in Scotland and northern England – First Monday
- Three Wise Men Day, or Epiphany, in Latin America, Spain, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, and is, although not celebrated as widely or in the same way as in countries with a Spanish history, an official holiday in many European countries, for example Austria, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Liechtenstein, Slovakia and Croatia, as well as in parts of Germany and Switzerland. – January 6
- Russian and Ukrainian Christmas Eve, also known as Svyat Vechir – January 6
- Coptic and Russian Orthodox Church Christmas – January 7
- Plough Sunday in Scotland and northern England – Sunday after January 6
- Coming of Age Day (成人の日, Seijin no hi?) in Japan – Second Monday
- National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the United States – January 11
- Feast of the Santo Niño in the Philippines – Third Sunday
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States – Third Monday
- Republic Day in India – January 26
- Australia Day in Australia - January 26
- Makara Sankranthi (Festival of Harvest) in India – January 15
- Auckland Anniversary in Auckland, New Zealand – Monday closest to January 29
- Burns night in Scotland – January 25
- The uniting of Moldavia and Wallachia under the same ruler in 1859, Romania – January 24
- National Thank You month
[edit] January symbols
[edit] References
- ^ January Birth Flower
